Care Cap Is an Immoral Scandal

In the last 100 years life expectancy has almost doubled from 42 at the turn of the century to 77 now for men and 82 for women.

But with this extra life has come a problem.

Many of us in our age need help from the young and healthy to do tasks that we could have done easily before.

But care is expensive.

Until now there was a solution. Most people, if they were lucky, had built up a small fortune which they had ploughed into their home.

Luckier still a population increase coupled with a lack of building means the value of these homes have far outpaced inflation over the past 30 years.

The average home bought 25 years ago for three times earnings is now worth more than five times earnings.

So once you got old and your children had fled the nest you could cash in your chips to cover the cost of your care and even have some left over to pass on if your children were lucky.

You'd sell off your family home and move somewhere smaller or into somewhere offering specialist care.

Up to 40,000 people a year currently sell up in this way putting desperately needed family homes back where they are needed - for families.

But this Mr Hunt told us on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show yesterday is "scandalous".

"The worst thing that can happen is at the most vulnerable moment in your life you lose the thing you worked hard for, that you saved for, your own house", he said.

So today Mr Hunt will announce a revolution in care to resolve this scandal.

For the first time ever, at an optimistic estimated cost of £1billion, the amount anyone has to pay for their own care will be capped at £75,000 regardless of how wealthy they are.

The whole coalition can exalt in the good news. Looking after the elderly; what a nice thing to do. Even the word care; well it just sounds so caring doesn't it? No more nasty Tories. It is our gentle touch that has steered this policy into the harbour the Liberal Democrats will whisper. Let the spin doctors go to the pub early!

But let's just turn the argument on its head.

Imagine a society where housing was so expensive and in such short supply that the average worker did not get their first toe on the property ladder until they were 35-years-old;

where whole families were forced to live in housing build for single people; where the government was so in debt that every penny had to be counted; and where a small portion of that population lived in homes that had outgrown them as their families had flown the nest.

What would you think of a society that told poor people without homes they would have to work harder to pay for the care of those with homes so that they do not have to sell them? Scandalous is a word that comes to mind Mr Hunt.